The Tweets of Marc Andreesen

On weird scary

Grandpa Simpson: "I used to be with it, but then they changed what it was..."

(continued): "...Now what I'm with isn't it, and what's it seems weird and scary to me. It'll happen to you!"

On insatiable demand

RT @polemitis: Summary: Daily currency trading $5.8T per day now (HT @Restarted_guy). BTC daily vol. ~$100M (60,000x less). Much more BTC t…

RT @polemitis: The way to reduce BTC volatility is more trading, more liquidity, more Wall St guys wanting 'only in it for the money'

RT @polemitis: Heard many times from tech guys 'BTC is brilliant - I don't care about the price - wish the speculators all left'. This is …

RT @polemitis: It is obvious that most finance folks don't yet understand tech behind bitcoin. Less obvious is tech unfamiliarity with 'ma…

RT @stevesi: Couple of things about how software services deals are "different" than traditional views on M&A

RT @stevesi: Many deals involve a network or ecosystem that is highly valued by participants but not yet monetized. Building out network i…

RT @stevesi: So you can't place a dollar value on the network, but it is the critical thing you are buying.

RT @stevesi: The code usually seems small and trivial in hindsight or make v buy, but keep in mind operating something for 100M people is c…

RT @stevesi: Software service cos rarely have big expenses given cloud infrastructure. smaller opex all around. yet momentum and value is r…

RT @stevesi: New businesses have margin/cost/cash structures that permit paying what seem like high prices (for the thing you can't value)

RT @stevesi: Modern service operations allow for easy side by side and cross-connections without interrupting product improvements.

RT @stevesi: Consider how long youtube was operated independently and how much it grew and improved in service. Thats a good model to learn…

RT @stevesi: Plus if you existing big co buying something new needs to do everything possible to maintain the value of what you bought. Abo…

RT @stevesi: Need to be very cautious of attempting to integrate with existing biz models, products, code, etc.

RT @stevesi: eg insatiable demand for synergy, integration, consistency of new thing w/existing: sales force, compensation, products, stand…

On 4T/day currency

RT @polemitis: Why do some folks think it is somehow a flaw if some people are only in BTC 'for the money / speculation'

RT @polemitis: Traders and hedge funds in USD/EUR/YEN also 'just in it for the money'. Side-benefit to society: liquid markets for everyone…

RT @polemitis: .@TheStalwart Well, there is $4T/day of currency trading (>1,400T/year) v. annual international trade of $36T. That is a lo…

On full stack

RT @cdixon: So many good tech ideas didn't work last decade because they tried to license to incumbents who didn't value or understand it.

RT @cdixon: Now the (excellent) trend is to go "full stack" and build tech, operations, and end user product/service to bypass incumbents.

RT @cdixon: Examples: electric car batteries, taxi operations systems, video delivery software, medical expert systems, educational softwar…

RT @cdixon: New world "full stack" startups: Tesla, Warby, Uber, Harrys, Nest, Buzzfeed, Netflix.

On Every important new technology

Market price of BTC (Bitcoin) dropped going into MtGox shutdown, and then has risen since.

This is exactly what one would predict for a normally functioning financial market without systemic risk.

MtGox had to die for Bitcoin to thrive. Its former role from early Bitcoin days has been supplanted by better, stronger entities.

People learning about or trading Bitcoin should deal with reputable, well-run, well-backed companies such as Coinbase (our choice).

Important to know that Bitcoin protocol & transaction network doing just fine in wake of MtGox shutdown --> no substantive technical issue.

Every important new technology has birthing pains. PC did, Web did, Bitcoin does. Our enthusiasm and commitment unchanged.

On crucible high performance

1/I'm torn over this story: "Inside the Showdown Atop Pimco, the World's Biggest Bond Firm" -- http://t.co/6ZwnN3uTbu

2/On the one hand, it's clearly excellent reporting, from top notch reporters and a world class newspaper.

3/On the other hand, story implication seems to be Bill Gross is out of control egomaniac who is going to ruin his firm if left unchecked.

4/I should start by saying I don't know Mr. Gross, I've never met him, I never deal with him in business, he's in totally different domain.

5/But the behavior described is completely typical of any highly-successful, high-functioning organization in any field I've ever seen.

6/High-functioning business organizations aren't Disneyland. There's always stress, conflict, argument, dissent. Emotion. Drama.

7/This exact same behavior/pattern is often found in both the best-performing companies in any space AND in the worst-performing.

8/I often see young people entering business think it's all going to be pattycake happyland, and if not, something must be badly wrong.

9/So I read this story and I literally think to myself, boy, that sounds like Apple, Oracle, Intel, Cisco, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft.

10/Moral? Business is stressful. There's constant conflict, emotion, even anger. Building a company is an intense experience, period.

11/Harnessed properly, this is the crucible out of which high performance and great results emerges. Satisfaction of overcoming challenges.

On institutional inv…

RT @cdixon: People who build things care about what happens over 5-10 years. Everything else is noise.

RT @polemitis: Mt. Gox winners will be well-capitalized, well-branded, well-credentialed, well-insured wallets, just like banks with Doric …

RT @polemitis: That means: @coinbase in the lead, @circlebits really needs to launch, @blockchain and @Bitstamp need more institutional inv…

On terrible event

RT @polemitis: Mt Gox debacle unfortunately necessary step for the evolution of bitcoin. Long history of failures at Mt Gox. To be repla…

RT @binarybits: Least surprising news of the day: people think Mt. Gox is insolvent. http://t.co/vv083n4ntw

RT @binarybits: In case the $5 million seizures by the US government, the $50 million lawsuit, and the suspension of withdrawals weren't en…

RT @polemitis: @naval @ndyroth @erickschonfeld MtGox long been out of its depth. terrible event for its customers, but probably inevitable…

RT @polemitis: @naval @ndyroth @erickschonfeld other than:bank seizures, lawsuits, inability to withdraw USD, trading lapses, nothing wld h…

RT @sama: just signed up for health insurance with @zenefits. excellent experience!

Idea 9

The birth of Whatsapp, May 9 2009: http://t.co/7YSNHWYixY

RT @DanRayburn: Inside The Netflix/Comcast Deal and What The Media Is Getting Very Wrong - http://t.co/NUofNYI83x Tip @techmeme

RT @YanniKouts: How the sudden collapse of Yanukovych's rule shocked his allies &opponents in Kiev—as well as Western officials http://t.co…

On wrong //t.co/A1vkYRLu7Z

RT @cdixon: Net neutrality: the important thing is to keep the pipes "dumb". Ok to charge by volume. Not ok to discriminate by type of traf…

RT @cdixon: Telco: "Your traffic looks like people are texting so we are charging you texting rates". That would be bad.

RT @BenedictEvans: Something is wrong in the world when France has a more competitive broadband market than the USA

RT @smc90: biting, brilliant satire on public reaction to (& how backwards would be seen) if cash were invented today @polemitis http://t.c…

RT @John_Hempton: Bronte Capital: The really strange Comcast-Netflix deal http://t.co/1cZAvOCOeq $NFLX $VZ $CMCSA

RT @smc90: fascinating post on mobile app usage from @borthwick et al's iOS homescreen analysis [via @myoung] http://t.co/wgVEhr6Vwn

RT @nist: I'll go on record that this analysis of Facebook/WhatsApp will be proven very very wrong http://t.co/A1vkYRLu7Z

On Later everyone

Prompted by Net Neutrality topic, but not limited to Net Neutrality topic--also applies to health care, education, banking--speaking as VC:

Government regulation that purports to protect ordinary consumers generally ends up protecting large incumbents.

Because government regulation establishes high stickiness for incumbents, vs new entrants that are unequipped to handle regulatory load.

Large incumbents in any industry are well aware of this, so they play 2-sided game: simultaneously complaining about & embracing regulation.

Which ultimately leads to regulatory capture--intertwined regulators & incumbents; crazy high barriers to entry. http://t.co/UM26PUkY41

Therefore Dodd Frank = Big Banks Protection Act of 2010. Raised barriers to new banks. Result: Big banks more powerful than ever.

Sarbanes Oxley = Big Companies Protection Act of 2002. Raised barriers to new public companies. Result: # of public co's fell off a cliff.

Later, everyone wonders why there's no new competition, incumbents more powerful than ever, then calls for yet more protective regulation...

Then total surprise that regulated sectors of economy languish while more competitive sectors race ahead. Regular consumers are the victims.

It's utterly predictable, yet surprise every single time. Triumph of hope over experience--brought to you by the Good Intentions Paving Co.

On competitive sharing

Allee Effect: Phenomenon in biology -- positive correlation between population size/density and mean individual fitness within population.

[Citations: http://t.co/Itu3mrmznq, http://t.co/BdnW4WMcXQ]

Allee was able to demonstrate that goldfish grow more rapidly when there are more individuals within the tank.

Classical view: Due to competition for resources, population has lower growth rate at higher density & higher growth rate at lower density.

Allee effect = positive density dependence; positive correlation between population density and individual fitness..."undercrowding".

Corollary?: # of tech startups targeting an established industry; more = higher odds of success for each?

Even if they're competing for scarce capital/talent, they'll make each other more competitive by sharing a playbook against common enemy?

On surprising ]

Red Queen hypothesis: Organisms adapt/evolve not only to gain advantage, also to survive vs evolving opposing organisms in changing context.

[Citations: http://t.co/lA2LvNX5zF, https://t.co/bCsAJrMhGr]

In many populations, the probability of extinction does not depend on the lifetime of the population.

In addition, the probability of extinction is constant over millions of years for a given population.

An adaptation of one species may change the selection pressure on another species, giving rise to an antagonistic coevolution.

The metaphor of an evolutionary arms race -- the description of biological processes with dynamics similar to arms races.

The ability of a family of organisms to survive does not improve over time -- [surprising] lack of correlation between age and extinction.

RT @trengriffin: @stevesi @pmarca @BenedictEvans Yes. Orthogonal to that: the increasing velocity of transfer of producer to consumer surpl…

RT @trengriffin: @pmarca @stevesi @BenedictEvans Certainly not captured in GDP figures. I see lost producer surplus in total profit adjuste…

On long-dormant copy

This is exciting for aficionados of the Voynich Manuscript: http://t.co/FwXylwDygz

Odds that a long-dormant copy of Wikipedia circa 2014 will be the Voynich Manuscript of 2614? --> "What were they trying to tell us??"

On active subject…

"In 2012, for the first time in history, there were over a billion international tourist arrivals worldwide." http://t.co/LZ92Mi5vm3

RT @lwwarren: @Wikisteff @pmarca @jimmy_wales Britannica = Out of date the moment it's printed. Wikipedia = maybe 10 mins on active subject…

RT @StephenBove: @pmarca @jimmy_wales Could make same arg for Tim Berners-Lee (Http) Paul Mockapetris (Smtp, DNS), other mass enablers who …

On key driver

Thought experiment: 1-Wikipedia available to ~5 billion people globally (or soon). 2-Print version of Encyc Britannica cost $1,400 per copy.

So existence of Wikipedia (economic GDP value = ~zero) adding 5B * $1,400 = $7 trillion of new wealth to the world? Hmmm.

Corollary: Jimmy Wales (@jimmy_wales) & colleagues biggest $ impact philanthropists ever? Leave JDRockefeller & WHGates in dust? Hmmm.

RT @heathterry: @pmarca and my set of Britannica's never even had a fully detailed plot summary of the last 50 years of the X-Men.

RT @JulesMaltz: @pmarca @jimmy_wales up there with Gutenberg. Took an expensive private asset (knowledge) and made it a public good.

RT @tcarmody: @pmarca I wrote about this for Wired a ways back. It's no accident that price of a full EB set ~ price of a 1990s PC http://t…

RT @AgentKyle: @pmarca Not counting the immeasurable benefit of freely available knowledge to anyone with an internet connection.

RT @vmocherla: @semil @pmarca Driving the price of knowledge to zero = priceless. Will be key driver for future great innovation all around…

On social network

RT @balajis: Some modern railroads I expect to see/would like to fund. First, a Bitcoin social network, one that links social identity to B…

RT @balajis: Right now we have N social identities and K Bitcoin wallets. Connect to build whitepages for Bitcoin: look up identity, pay wi…

On allow commercial traffic [

RT @balajis: These railroads were built to open up a physical frontier which officially closed in 1890. See Turner's famous essay: http://t…

RT @balajis: In 1991, with the fall of the USSR & the legalization of commercial traffic on the internet (http://t.co/QDKgDDekt8), a new fr…

RT @balajis: "1991...NSFNET...altered to allow commercial traffic...[the internet] began its record expansion in that very month" http://t.…

On possible successor

Enormous, gigantic congratulations to Sam Altman (@sama) & Paul Graham (@paulg) on the big news at YC! http://t.co/2BGuAJJZ27

Sam Altman (@sama) will undoubtedly take YC to even higher heights -- Paul Graham (@paulg) has picked the best possible successor.

And hat tip to Paul Graham (@paulg) for, with his colleagues, building the most amazing startup ecosystem in the world over last 10 years!

On //t.co/cfwQ9q3QRW veil

"Containing man’s relations to nature+society, & incorp all skills+knowledge abt material creation+production, technology=very broad scope."

"However, Marx also observed that 'Right down to the eighteenth century, the different trades were called "mysteries."'"

"Then veil of mystery torn apart by 'modern science of technology,' science in which practical artists articulate & explain their own work."

Citations: http://t.co/VDAN4PaAtL, http://t.co/cfwQ9q3QRW

On political change

Fascinating look at intersect of tech innovation, entrepreneurship, and political change in modern Middle East -- http://t.co/KlFVBq8gYE

I think same book could be written now about Central & South America, Southeast Asia, China, India, Africa. Things are changing fast.

Idea 22

The future of Hollywood: "On the set of the 'Veronica Mars' movie, a Kickstarter dream comes to life" -- http://t.co/dZhH282IHK

"Veronica Mars is back at work... in a project that has no business existing under any of the rules by which we understand Hollywood."

"The Film Shoot Brought to You By Kickstarter, crazy idea by the show’s creator Rob Thomas...$5.7 million crowdfunded dollars later..."

"Ivan Askwith, associate producer: 'These people gave money to a movie that didn’t even exist yet!'"

"Fan Lauren Sierra gave $25 to the Kickstarter campaign. 'I’m a broke college student,' she says apologetically. 'It was all I could do.'"

On unbelievable fast

RT @maxua: @pmarca there would be nothing in Ukraine without Youtube, FB, smartphones and Internet. it's unbelievable how fast self-org hap…

RT @gwestr: I have a deep respect for how WhatsApp made a platform for all 2 billion phones, not just the $700 models (S4 & iPhone) like th…

On economic justice

"World Protests 2006-2013" from @JosephEStiglitz's Initiative for Policy Dialogue -- http://t.co/PQCjw9fVaL

"There have been periods in history when large #'s of people rebelled about the way things were, demanding change -- 1848, 1917 or 1968."

"Today we are experiencing another period of rising outrage and discontent, and some of the largest protests in world history."

"A steady increase in the overall number of protests every year: from 2006 (59 protests) to mid-2013 (112 protests events in only 1/2 yr)."

"Main causes of outrage are: Economic Justice, Failure of Political Representation and Political Systems, Global Justice, Rights of People."

"Most sobering finding is overwhelming demand, not for economic justice per se, but for what prevents economic issues from being addressed:"

"Lack of 'real democracy', result of peoples' growing awareness that policy-making has not prioritized them, even when it has claimed to."

"Not only traditional protesters (activists, unions) demonstrating; middle classes, youth, older people are protesting in most countries."

"# of protests + # of protestors increasing. 37 events had 1M+ protesters; some may be largest protests ever (100M India '13, 17M '13)."

On corrupt amp

From one of the smartest thinkers I know--Kiril Sokoloff of 13D Research--http://t.co/tuD47mQ4Vz: "A contagion of social unrest & violence."

"Ever-expanding list of countries down slippery slope towards chaos or civil war proves: a contagion will continue until proven otherwise."

"Long-suppressed anger in world starting to explode...caused by artificial borders, ethnic and religious hatred, accumulated anger..."

"...past wrongs, growing division bt haves & have nots, corrupt & poorly-led governments, inadequate economic growth, youth unemployment..."

"Growing speculation Ukraine may be headed for civil war. Thailand government being overthrown. Survival of Venezuela’s regime at risk..."

Idea 26

RT @johnofa: @pmarca Agree 100%. That's where Orwell got it wrong https://t.co/W9MK4dleDE

RT @mathewi: @pmarca: Agreed -- I wrote about that a little here, inspired by @zeynep: http://t.co/70rIFOYZMt

RT @IvanTheK: @pmarca Harder to suppress dissent when people can congregate virtually in lieu of physically.

On Every country

My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine & Venezuela--everyone in US hopes result of your struggles is peace & freedom.

I think it's becoming increasingly clear: citizens of every country no longer willing to tolerate oppressive regimes, bad governments.

Contrary to cynicism in some quarters: Internet + smartphone + many other infotech innovations ramping power of citizens vs bad governments.

Prediction: Every country with bad government will have as many protests & revolutions as needed to get to peaceful, prosperous democracy.

Idea 28

Congratulations to our friends/colleagues @Crowdtilt on launch of CrowdtiltOpen, open-src white-label crowdfunding: http://t.co/QReJLxIScS

To quote @photomatt, CrowdtiltOpen "does for crowdfunding what WordPress did for blogging" :-). http://t.co/9iGNJbxu0P

On new article

RT @alexismadrigal: More than 50% of the traffic to http://t.co/4etRGZ3Y5g now comes from mobile devices: http://t.co/1QZPJM7VMJ

RT @aantonop: My new article on bitcoin’s security and trust model is published on O’Reilly Radar: http://t.co/f2VNTklYm8

RT @MichaelMandel: Tech hubs have better inequality performance since 2007 than other large cities. PPI analysis of Brookings data http://…

On global popn

RT @IanMaude: @apere006 @tjcsmyth @pmarca @adikamdar global popn took 1.2-1.5 millennia to go from 300-450m. Whatsapp 6 months. investors r…

RT @zedlewski: @pmarca anyone who says Google lacks the research ambition of Bell Labs doesn't know what they are talking about

RT @dkimerling: @pmarca Given simple's acquisition, @ztownsend and I wrote up some thoughts. Thought you might be interested. http://t.co/q…

On average annual growth

RT @paulbaumgart: @tjcsmyth @pmarca @adikamdar That translates to only 0.4% average annual growth since 0 AD. WhatsApp seems like the bette…

RT @monkbent: In 2012 US spent $18b keeping immigrants out: http://t.co/vTcZcnC5OI

Yesterday, an immigrant captured $19b in value: http://…

On another example

RT @cdixon: Pick one but not both 1) people spend too much time staring at their phones, 2) the apps they stare at are overvalued.

RT @bznotes: Talking to portfolio company CEOs re: their questions on WhatsApp. And reminding them not every company can ignore revenues or…

RT @z6lc7vj7v: Hal Varian’s Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy is actually one of the best books I’ve read on busi…

RT @MParekh: Great Country, America: "How Things Change" @WhatsApp, Co-founders: @BrianActon, @JanKoum http://t.co/Rl4Urykque #Congrats #St…

RT @hunterwalk: Whatsapp acq another example of "never heard of it, must not be big" = WRONG http://t.co/8Nlr534q1J

On Another prescient

Liveblog of Facebook/WhatsApp conference call from WSJ: http://t.co/1S7CoW2As1

Prescient think piece by @stratechery/@monkbent from yesterday: http://t.co/1ha4GIAMXI

Another prescient piece from @BenBajarin from last week: http://t.co/mnM12NxIUU

On h… pdparticle

RT @pdparticle: @rafat @pmarca WhatsApp has become a solid brand among Indians. “Are you on WhatsApp?” Is the question that is always asked…

RT @TobennaA: @rafat @pmarca add everyone in most African countries and Europe too. Hugely popular all around. Only my US friends haven't h…

Idea 35

Congratulations to Whatsapp & Facebook teams! -- "Facebook to Acquire WhatsApp" -- http://t.co/R7RoIv5gqJ

WhatsApp's Jan Koum & Brian Acton are entrepreneurial geniuses and role models -- the best of Silicon Valley -- well done, guys!

On last year

Amazing NYT piece on Sudan's version of "The Apprentice"--entrepreneurship is inspiring and driving ppl globally--http://t.co/329hRJu36d

"It was the final episode, live from Khartoum’s 18-story, egg-shaped Corinthia Hotel tower, built by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya."

"...Has kindled imagination of Sudanese youth. Friends gathered to watch the evening episodes and rooted for their favorite contestants."

"'I followed the show from the beginning,' said Khalid Muhammad Khalid, 22, a university student. 'It was an inspiration.'"

"'Entrepreneurship is not culturally given a high status...Many would say, ‘Why not get a proper job in government or a company?'"

"Challenging that mind-set is what Mr. Abdelatif and several local businessmen sought out to do. Hence, the birth last year of 'Mashrouy.'"

On generous donation

RT @aantonop: Blockchain’s CEO @niccary makes a generous donation to his Alma Mater, the University of Puget Sound, in bitcoin: http://t.co…

RT @Mark_J_Perry: Because of 12% gender pay gap at White House, female staffers must work until tomorrow to earn what men made in 2013 http…

On Chinese smartphone

Congratulations @hbarra & Xiaomi team on first product launch outside of China! http://t.co/krtqP0hYJn

"Chinese smartphone company, Xiaomi, has kicked off its global expansion plans in Singapore--Android devices will go on sale this Friday."

On new world

Responses to those 3 deflation questions prompted questions about ongoing role of Moore's Law especially if chip speeds are topping out.

My assessment for silicon: we are shifting from 30 years of "faster performance for same $" to 30 years of "same performance for less $".

Which means at least three dramatic changes in how we think about functionality & performance of computing in our lives:

1: On a device (e.g. smartphone), rising use of parallelism (more cores and/or chips for same $), including graphics & many new sensors.

2: In cloud, massive parallelism applied against many more big problems -- Google & FB just the start; amazing new services in many sectors.

3: Ultra-cheap chips on network embedded in virtually every physical object around us; feeding info on real world + controlling real world.

User experience blends (1) Device in hand + (2) On-demand use of huge # of cloud supercomputers + (3) Online links to every physical object.

Most use cases for this new world were inconceivable in PC era. Literally no way to provide them -- couldn't be done; couldn't be imagined.

On fly-by-night university

Finally, serious economists are starting to take the time to study cryptocurrency & Bitcoin beyond the cliches -- http://t.co/8xtBZWjI7v

"Athey believes...cryptocurrency is 'a simple, powerful technology superior to existing technology,' with major drivers for wide adoption."

"Even if everyone just broadcasting the fundamentals, a lot of new information about the fundamentals...not surprising value is changing."

"Athey says, 'When you really think about what we do today in the banking system...it's stunning that's the way we do business in 2014..."

"...It seems very natural that things will change. It's only surprising that they haven't changed already.'"

Economist quoted is Susan Athey, at some remote, probably unaccredited fly-by-night university called Stanford... https://t.co/CArK8Sna2I

Related: Could smart reporters writing Bitcoin stories please explain to photo editors that photos of shiny gold coins don't make sense? :-)

On great seaman

"America was discovered accidentally by a great seaman who was looking for something else, when discovered it was not wanted..."

"...and most of the exploration for the next fifty years was done in the hope of getting through or around it." --Samuel Eliot Morison

Idea 42

RT @eliz_beth: @sklardie @ZacharyJeans @pmarca My daughter is now 7 and was using iPad/ipod since she was maybe1.5?

RT @eliz_beth: @sklardie @ZacharyJeans @pmarca Just set her up with email, she loves writing us messages. Win-win reading, writing, & tech.

RT @abhishekdesai: @pmarca Conducted "Hour of Code" at out office for 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade students and almost all completed it! https://t.c…

RT @deepakshenoy: @pmarca my 2 year old instantly clicks the skip ad link on youtube and the X to close ads in games. Advertising needs a …

RT @zseward: @pmarca NYC subway, summer 2012 http://t.co/e2pGdMCWCz

RT @ayouti: @pmarca My 3-year-old daughter enters the iPhone unlock code, is comfortable with apps, and deletes the games/photos she doesn'…

Idea 43

RT @jeremyzilar: At 4.5yrs @keplr had learned how to do a Google image search for what he wants to see http://t.co/t9eQnM6jij CC @pmarca

RT @sushobhan: One more child transfixed by a screen @pmarca again in Bangkok http://t.co/jgWVI18xnW

On key thing

RT @mvboeke: @pmarca Today a zoo keeper told me the orangutans used an iPad to learn shapes, color and rudiments of language.

RT @ianpatrickhines: @pmarca Absolutely. You should see what my four year old can do with an iPad. He doesn’t even think of it as “a device…

RT @Kiteaton: @Yarcom @pmarca 6?! Bah. My 3 year old knows how to open apps, use gestures, switch apps, tweak the volume, dismiss pop-up op…

RT @stevenbjohnson: Re: latest @pmarca twitter essay, here's the study showing real-world echo chamber effect is much worse than online htt…

RT @dangillmor: @stevenbjohnson real world (incl traditional media) lacks the key thing that helps folks on the Internet see opposing views…

On important whatever

The Virtual Hypothesis: Whatever is happening on the screen in front of you is more interesting than whatever is happening around you.

Virtual Hypothesis (Strong): Whatever's on screen in front of you is more interesting & more important than whatever's happening around you.

On 'skip ad

RT @robotenomics: @pmarca RT @DrTomCrick Five observations by a female programmer aged 7. Very astute! http://t.co/gandm2QAnj (HT @KathrynP…

RT @nikcub: @pmarca my 2 year old nieces first words she put together were 'skip ad', in reference to YouTube

On old finished high

RT @yannbrandt: @pmarca I interviewed for JohnsHopkins a 13 year old finished with high school through virtual school. We have to increase …

RT @aspidistra_dev: @pmarca There are games my daughter could play at 18 months. Some apps better designed than others, but touchscreen imm…

RT @cherian_abraham: @pbaratelli @pmarca I'm using his love for Minecraft to pique his interest in programming thru "Scratch" tht he can cr…

Idea 48

RT @SnazzyHam: @pmarca my cousin is in the 1st grade and already uses keyboard shortcuts. He's halfway through one of the hour of code chal…

RT @Ailish_Campbell: My 4 yr old asked me if I was stopping the car, or if the car was "scanning" the stop sign @pmarca. My brain needs to …

RT @voorheesamy: @pmarca Watching my non verbal 8yo w/autism use proloquo2go on the ipad to communicate is nothing short of stunning. She'…

On old tired watching

RT @alanwarms: @pmarca sooner than that. 8th graders who've never used MS Office - all work being done native on iPad

RT @ianwaring: @Yarcom @pmarca My 1 yr 10th old Granddaughter. iPhone/iPad native, though tries to swipe "Skip Ad" on the TV too http://t.c…

RT @sandymaxey: @EdG42 Fingerprints on car passenger window where my Littlest Mini tried to "scroll the window down." @pmarca

RT @fiatluxfm: @pmarca my six month old daughter seems disappointed when she taps or swipes a regular children's book and nothing happens

RT @dbhyslop: @pmarca Son at 15 months taught himself to play matching game on iPad by trial & error. Years before he'd be able to play it …

RT @Ailish_Campbell: Yes @pmarca. My little digital natives see world as adaptable & info as ubiquitous. Also ask why everything doesn't "w…

RT @stephenballot: @pmarca my one and a half year old took one iteration to figure out that all the action is in the Games folder on my iPh…

RT @jmackin2: @pmarca Not sure need to wait that long - have 9 year old who is using Python on Linux for grid computing

RT @StantonGrove: @pmarca iPad has my 2yo prepped for Kindergarten 3 yrs early. Identifies shapes, numbers, letters, phonics, basic math. A…

RT @SBGallo: @pmarca my neighbors 3 yr old was tired of watching a show - started swiping across the tv screen to change the channel

On frm village

RT @martina_skelly: @pmarca I'm a Mom of 3, living in rural Ireland running an award winning SaaS start-up with customers in 31 countries. …

RT @JustinWolfers: Your iPhone would have cost $3.56 million in 1991: http://t.co/kIuKA3ALN6 This is why it's so hard to measure changes in…

Walk through Stanford Shopping Center this weekend eye opening. Sheer # of kids ages 3-6, some in strollers, glued to tablets/smartphones.

Very young kids showing complete fluency with touch screen interaction, playing visually complex/dynamic games & education apps.

Totally new phenomenon: prior generation of kids could first start using laptops fluently at ages 10-12? Now accelerated ~6-8 years!

First generation of fully digital native people are toddlers now (!). Will astonish us in 20 years with creativity, ingenuity, capability.

Funniest scene: ~7 year old boy playing XBox One hi-def basketball in Microsoft Store. ~5 year old brother ignoring, absorbed in own iPhone.

RT @shaig: @pmarca iPad is so well designed, My then 1.5 year old daughter unlocked/swiped, launched Netflix app, selected video on her own

RT @TerryBarnes72: @pmarca my 3yo son has cerebral palsy & uses an ipad. His aptitude with it is amazing - it seems utterly intuitive to hi…

RT @EdG42: @pmarca In a recent study we watched an 18mnth old walk up to a flatscreen TV and try to "swipe" the screen to change the image.

RT @Bitcoin_Invest: @pmarca My 5 yr old nephew brought his tablet to my house a few weeks ago and asked what my wifi login was at my house.

RT @ayanb: @pmarca 8 months old, Bangalore suburb, cant stand on her feet yet, but can swipe the ipad, open youtube app & start watching ba…

RT @SteveLussier: @pmarca pace G Dyson: evolution now likely to favor children best at communicating with computers AND computers best at t…

RT @Yarcom: @pmarca 6-8? My 2 year old uses the iPad as if she's been using it for years.

RT @Ronin_Jim: @pmarca Always fun to watch a young kid reading a magazine looking confused when their page swipe does nothing.

RT @brownsam: @pmarca When I was 3, I was eating soil, never mind fluently using a touch screen.

RT @waqasaday: @pmarca started 2 years back frm a village in Pakistan, sold shoes in 17 countries, partnered w/ Fab, now visiting SV & Zapp…

On I’d either

RT @blankenship: @pmarca I grew up in a Southern small town. The web makes a “city experience” available to all, even rural people. Geograp…

RT @blankenship: @pmarca If I would have had web access as a kid in a town of 3000, I’d either be a different person, or have become the sa…

On internet= gt

RT @sqrtnegative1: @pmarca @aliciatweet Future Perfect by @stevenbjohnson addresses this; claims that internet=>easy access to opposing ide…

RT @pummer: @pmarca this is right-it's happening before our eyes. a kenyan goat farmer today can have access to more information than obama…

On enormous unlocking

What is "normal"? 1950's US: white, male, adult, heterosexual, married, kids, owns house, owns car, job w/1 co, extrovert, verbal > math.

For last 60 years, we've been doing dismount from every single one of these -- for what "normal" means. Still in process. Distance to go.

Theory: Internet is catalyst to finish the process. Each individual can find others alike; pressure to conform or alienate greatly reduced.

Result: Enormous reduction of societal alienation; corresponding enormous unlocking of human potential across all members of society.

Corollary: Massive power shift between those currently viewed as "normal" and those not. Across each axis of difference, and all combined.

Idea 54

RT @TechCrunch: As Mt․Gox Implodes, Rival Bitcoin Exchanges Remain Surprisingly Stable http://t.co/aqzbAYT8cL by @alex

RT @semil: Elon Musk's own "seed" into SpaceX was essentially 17 microVC funds rolled into a space exploration company.

On real-time market

RT @LeslieBradshaw: Let the haters motivate you. Be the honey badger. @Yahoo exec called @reddit a rounding error in 2005. Motivated me dai…

RT @polemitis: Journalists: Mt Gox price currently only real-time market on probability Mt Gox is solvent. Currently more than 2:1 agains…

On clean judgment

RT @vgr: . @pmarca @asaadhutchinson Smarm alert! Exercise in holier-than-thou doerists gleefully expanding synonym space for "shut up!"

RT @nntaleb: .@pmarca The Greeks believed that someone who HAD TO to work for a living could not form a clean judgment of things. Which is …

Idea 57

"The term is from a comment purportedly made by Apelles, a famous Greek artist, to a shoemaker who presumed to criticize his painting."

"The Latin phrase 'Sutor, ne ultra crepidam', as set down by Pliny, means that a shoemaker ought not to judge beyond his own soles."

On old german

Onion: "Newly Tenured Professor Now Inspired To Work Harder Than Ever" -- http://t.co/mEVrj8t1Xz

RT @EAWharton: @pmarca pro sports is one of the fields where this is the most rampant. Twitter has helped tech drift there too

RT @libovness: @pmarca Notable that men are more often guilty of having opinions on things they don’t know about than women are - it’s call…

RT @StephenBove: @pmarca That would be "Anfälligkeit für Idioten" - old german phrase for a field's vulnerability to the opinions of idiots…

On Humorous visual sheer

Interesting @NickKristof column on growing marginalization/absence of academics from public issues/real world--http://t.co/oeftvJMFNQ

.@NickKristof says "Ph.D. programs have fostered a culture that glorifies arcane unintelligibility while disdaining impact and audience."

If true, then would expect smart academics who want real-world impact to increasingly leave academia, and e.g. start companies.

No tenure system in business world--"succeed or perish", not "publish or perish". Highly satisfying for personality type that wants impact.

For this reason, some universities making it much easier for profs & grad students to leave & return, even repeatedly. Controversial topic.

Delicate balance. Don't want to ruin what makes academia special. Do want to enable people to make maximum contribution to world.

RT @balajis: Humorous visual of the sheer number of devices replaced by smartphones. See also: http://t.co/S5q8nu9IKx http://t.co/VlvvjlqODo

On hard tell

RT @fawceisfawce: @pmarca competence stems from self-evaluation. Evaluating competence in design: hard Realizing you don't know boo abt qua…

RT @JonDBrown: @uaflyer Exactly my point. Anyone can try to fly/land. #dead Like designing, skill of flying is in proper & successful execu…

RT @twobitidiot: @pmarca UI/Creative/Hiring rely on prediction. Coding/Accntng/Media rely on past & present performance. @nntaleb split 2 t…

RT @WilliamBerkson: @Celt_Englishman @pmarca Clarity of feedback; Popper-testability. This is quality of explanatory theory of what works, …

RT @DShaywitz: @pmarca outstanding discussion of topic: Louis Menand's review of Tetlock in New Yorker, "Everyone's An Expert": http://t.co…

RT @ChetanChawla: @pmarca that sounds like the Dunning Kruger Effect http://t.co/5CjH28aycN

RT @mistercasey: @pmarca 2 by 2 matrix: willingness to opine on a topic vs. odds of having a valid opinion. Need a name for high willingnes…

RT @stevesi: @twobitidiot @pmarca @nntaleb see Cynefin http://t.co/apaBv2w3T8 for a taxonomy along those lines. http://t.co/kLyI39LOKu

RT @David_Kasten: @thewillbeard @pmarca we also ask citizens to weigh in on normative side of these routinely as voters -- which obscures t…

RT @z6lc7vj7v: .@fawceisfawce Different areas have different degrees of falsifiability, eg: quantum physics statements are easier to falsif…

RT @techguerilla: @pmarca Point is it seems to be skills that are outside our ability to imagine ourselves having expertise. (surgeon, math…

RT @techguerilla: @pmarca So if I can frame a problem in which it seems the answer is ‘opinion’ (no matter the expertise), I have right to …

RT @luisdarbulu: @pmarca no difference. People always think their opinions are valid in every subject (see: alternative medicine, thorium…

RT @brigode: @pmarca non-experts giving advise aggressively = dilettaunting

RT @MasterMarquette: @pmarca spreach

RT @stevesi: @mosjef @pmarca fields where you consume output which confuses you into thinking you can create output (advertising, ux design…

RT @oakpassrd: @mosjef @pmarca can't help but think of baseball chatter vs moneyball. for fun i prefer chatter, in my own field i would dem…

RT @dandrezner: @pmarca I call this the "Thanksgiving Dinner Test." Topics that are open to debate around the dinner table = little respect…

RT @Kwdmiller: @pmarca in business the latter is loosely called “strategy” sigh

RT @alephbass: @mistercasey @pmarca blowhard isn’t good enough? Or perhaps you were looking for the technical term, “O’Reilly Factor”.

RT @wolfeb99: @thewillbeard @pmarca it is hard to tell the difference in some of those areas btwn those who fail and learn and those who fa…

On 're business

RT @CedFunches: @pmarca opinions aren't strategy. They're just a business card for your ego.

RT @DataMiller: @mathewi @pmarca @ade_oshineye A lot of people think they can Science, but they all stop at the front end: hypothesis.

RT @anildash: @pmarca splainophilic vs splainophobic disciplines?

RT @nntaleb: @LouisLebbos @pmarca Hard vs soft (or narrative) sciences.

RT @ammielkamon: @pmarca good PM, Marketing, or Design are product of learned skills, experience, methodology and solid process. Not just V…

On UX/design delib…

RT @ramit: @pmarca This is "The Bike Shed" Effect: nobody debates an atomic reactor, but they feel strongly about paint color http://t.co/6…

RT @jaredran: @pmarca Expert Customer vs Everyone Customer. Everyone is a customer of Product, UI etc and we are taught that customer feedb…

RT @tomguarriello: .@pmarca your thoughts remind me of CP Snow’s “two cultures” http://t.co/9Xqsi3w6GJ

RT @carribeiro: @zaw56 @pmarca Knowledge popularization has a long history of controversy. Goes as far as translating the Bible in vulgar l…

RT @morganwarstler: Read this ESPN piece on difference of opinion between talkers and players @timmyconspiracy @pmarca http://t.co/qQxHu613…

RT @hemalkuntawala: @pmarca We operate no "HiPPO" policy, "Highest Paid Person's Opinion". They always have a say on UX/design and we delib…

On Related concept

Need a term for difference between fields where deep skills are respected, vs fields where everyone thinks they can have a valid opinion.

See this in business all the time. Deep professionals respected in software coding, network ops, accounting, contract law, media relations.

But everyone thinks they have valid opinions on product strategy, UI design, advertising creative, patent litigation, hiring criteria.

Related, concept of drive-by tourism of complex fields in media/commentary. Things easy to opine on vs impossible to opine on.

Idea 64

Liberation theology originally attached to PCs: Read Ted Nelson http://t.co/hFIHYzdZco (very bitter) & John Markoff http://t.co/IGVh8UWXfI

Liberation theology originally attached to Internet: Every issue of Wired Magazine from 1994 to 2000 :-).

Also read George Gilder: Microcosm http://t.co/9UpGUfRp4a and Telecosm http://t.co/GcngMwgEme

On every time

Philosophy: New ideas (including new technologies) come from the fringe. Naturally--by definition, not going to come from establishment.

Since new ideas/technologies come from the fringe, they often also come with fringe politics attached.

In tech, this was true of both PCs and the Internet, both of which came with liberal/libertarian version of liberation theology attached.

In time, the new idea/technology mainstreams, leaving fringe politics behind. Mainstream politics adapts to accommodate new idea/tech.

Mainstreaming naturally alienates and embitters the original fringe political advocates, causing them to move on to other new ideas/tech.

In time, the original fringe politics are completely forgotten and the new idea/tech is viewed as normal and obviously inevitable.

In the West, we have been in this cycle for at least 500 years. Despite that, it is still a shock every time it happens.

On historical precedent

RT @semil: Interesting point to ponder by @robustus "Apple banning #bitcoin wallets creates a class of revolutionary apps that only exist o…

RT @balajis: "I want to make it clear that the students who created Tidbit have the full and enthusiastic support of MIT" - http://t.co/KC8…

RT @cdixon: Open Libernet: adds incentives (modeled on Bitcoin) to mesh networking to replace ISPs. http://t.co/Fe6yDClZwK

RT @BenedictEvans: I'm a big fan of comparisons that are unfair but relevant. That's what disruption means. The more unfair, the more disru…

RT @aantonop: I find adversarial debates about crypto currencies tiresome. Uninformed conjecture and lack of historical precedent make them…

On weird version

RT @mengwong: The Internet in 2014 is like a weird version of 1994 Unix… every utility in /usr/bin/ now has VC funding and a Twitter strate…

RT @wmougayar: #Bitcoin Quiz How many publicly tradeable cryptocurrencies are there? A.75 B.112 C.83 D.126 @pmarca @cdixon @balajis @aanton…

On last year

RT @mistercasey: @pmarca The protestors should really be calling attention to supply constraints but instead demonize demand growth.

RT @semil: @pmarca last year, wrote a post on this but called for additional initiatives in concert w/ increased housing supply http://t.co…

On supply-and-demand analysis

"San Francisco is a city where a technology-fueled housing boom has collided with a draconian rent-control law."

"High rents on uncontrolled apartments (desperate renters w/nowhere to go) + absence of new construction despite high rents? Predictable."

"Bitter relations between tenants and landlords, arms race between ever-more ingenious strategies to force tenants out? Predictable."

"As for the way rent control sets people against one another... that's predictable, too."

"The pathologies of San Francisco's housing market are right out of the textbook, exactly what supply-and-demand analysis predicts."

On 3rd lowest

Interesting analysis of tech's impact on San Francisco economy (if soft on rent controls & building restrictions): http://t.co/ainhRbMx2O

"Two-thirds of 40,000 new jobs in SF since 2010 do not require a computer science degree or a closet full of expensive sneakers."

"The San Francisco Bay Area enjoys the 3rd lowest unemployment rate (4.8%) of California’s 58 counties."

"Every tech job creates five jobs in other industries, as compared to just additional two jobs from a manufacturing job."

"After Seattle significantly increased housing construction, rent hikes slowed even during a jobs boon that outpaced San Francisco’s."

On vocal quality

Let's close out Beatles 50th anniv of landing in US week with some more reviews from the time... http://t.co/El1mBWI2pW

"With their bizarre shrubbery, Beatles are obviously a press agent's dream combo. Not even their mothers would claim that they sing well."

More WmFBuckley! "They qualify as crowned heads of anti-music, even as the imposter popes went down in history as 'anti-popes.'"

Newsweek: "Visually they are a nightmare, tight, dandified Edwardian-Beatnik suits and great pudding bowls of hair."

"Musically they are near disaster, guitars and drums slamming out merciless beat that does away with secondary rhythms, harmony and melody."

"Their lyrics are a catastrophe, a preposterous farrago of Valentine-card romantic sentiments."

NYT got down: "The Beatles' vocal quality is hoarsely incoherent, with minimal enunciation necessary to communicate the schematic texts."

On i… cdixon

RT @Ke_Ga: Fireside chat with Marc Andreessen - @pmarca http://t.co/l4OoQ5xdjF interview by @sarahcuda - must watch talk for anyone in tec…

RT @cdixon: "Fish prices stabilized immediately after phones were introduced, and fishermen’s profits actually increased" http://t.co/O3CkZ…

RT @frank_rieger: The beauty of Bitcoin is that it takes away all lofty claims about system security. Bad code quality directly tranlates i…

On new history

RT @aantonop: The historical precedents don't inform the debate on crypto-currencies because they assume a centralized context and trust mo…

RT @aantonop: Nobody can know what happens next for crypto-currencies because they've never happened before. We're all living new history b…

On subsidized federal spending

Having baited hook, here's the kicker: tax transfers inversely correlated to partisan politics: http://t.co/JI2mneE1lj

"Strong correlation between state voting R and receiving more in federal spending than its residents pay in taxes (ex rust belt and Texas)."

"Both red and blue states appear to be acting politically in opposition to their economic interests."

"Blue states voting 4 continuing red state subsidization, while red states are voting 4 reducing (subsidized for them) federal spending."

On receive federal spending

Highly important but almost never discussed factor in how to think about taxing & spending in US: Tax transfers -- http://t.co/xt7ZpqfSDZ

"Some American states receive more in federal spending than they pay in federal taxes; others receive less. Over 20 years, really add up."

Full table is here, makes interesting reading: http://t.co/BY8TSrG2Fv

California transferred $336B out in 20 years; in comparison, Florida (e.g.) received $298B in. Consider difference in CA/FL state taxes!

New York, hotbed of greedy plutocrats, sent nearly $1 trillion out in 20 yrs; "real America" AZ, SC, WV, MI, KY, etc. received huge amts.

In %'s, Delaware, home of evil Fortune 500, overtaxed by 206%; New Mexico, salt of the earth people all, undertaxed by 261%.

Idea 76

RT @DavidSacks: As Jobs points out, craftsmanship is the true wellspring of creativity, which is why ideas shouldn't be patentable unless y…

Dammit, this time @cdixon has gone too far. https://t.co/JmDG85y9P2

On negative piece

Good news: Passed my partner @bhorowitz on # followers today! Bad news: I'm lagging badly on quality; I needed ~6x more tweets to do it. :-)

RT @balajis: http://t.co/1CrWX28siX shows sites near you that accept #bitcoin. Idea: take spaced snapshots for posterity over next few year…

RT @balajis: @JamesTimmins Here's a one-click link for the next Startup Engineering MOOC: http://t.co/7ItKvpMuUc. Guest lectures, #bitcoin,…

RT @balajis: .@jpmorgan on the Audacity of Bitcoin. Arguably negative piece, yet respectful vs. breathless. Has some new charts. http://t.c…

On new horizon

In what year and in what context did Jack Dorsey (@jack) say the following: "We enter a new era. Are we ready for the changes coming?..."

"Houses we live in tomorrow will not much resemble houses today. Cars/planes/theaters/cities, industry itself, undergoing rapid changes..."

"Likewise, art in all its forms. The forms they presently take will undoubtedly have kinship with the forms we know in the present..."

"But this relationship will be as distinct/remote as that between the personal computer of yesterday and the present-day smartphone..."

"We live and work under pressure...We feel that life in our time is more urgent, complex and discordant than life ever was before..."

"In the perspective of fifty years in future, the historian will detect in the decade of 2010-2020 a period of tremendous significance..."

"She will see as period of criticism/unrest/dissatisfaction to point of disillusion when new aims being sought, new beginnings were astir."

"She will say, in midst of global melancholy due to economic depression, new age dawned with invigorating conceptions and horizon lifted."

"Critics of the age are agreed upon one thought: that what industry has given us, as yet, is not good enough."

"Another plea of critics hostile to the age is that machines make robots of men...They fail to see that the machine age is not really here."

"Although we built the machines, we have not become at ease with them and have not mastered them."

"Rapidly multiplying products, creating & glorifying the gadget, we are inferior craftsmen, victims rather than masters of our ingenuity."

"The US has seized upon more of the fruits of technology than any other nation. We have gone farther and more swiftly...To what end?"

"Not the least tendency is the searching and brooding uncertainty, the quest for basic truths which characterize the present day."

"Never before, in an economic crisis, has there been such aroused consciousness on part of community at large and within industry itself."

"Complacency has vanished. A new horizon appears. A horizon that will inspire the next phase in the evolution of the age."

On previous tweet

Repost: A great piece on Apple's R&D spending 1995-current. Lots of lessons in here. http://t.co/RdaoqrTR4e

Apple R&D chart from previous tweet: http://t.co/nCrGMDZ1QB

Idea 80

Slack, Flickr Co-Founder Butterfield’s Business Collaboration App, Exits Beta & Goes Freemium -- http://t.co/7NMuUOZj5X

Slack (@SlackHQ) is SECOND time @stewart & colleagues have built game that tanked, then pivoted co into killer collab app. 1st was Flickr!!

On crucial interplay

Increasing # of interesting articles & interviews on the all-new @a16z web site http://t.co/TIwLpITrhr (orchestrated by our partner @MVC)...

Yours truly on missionary vs mercenary startups, and why missionary startups tend to do much better: http://t.co/YmQyorKlj7

"People sounding death knell of bricks-and-mortar retail aren’t shopping for makeup."--Sephora CMO Julie Bornstein: http://t.co/jvoFq2PzEw

How to build your critical recruiting muscle, convince the best talent to join your company (by @W_ScottWeiss) http://t.co/UiuAPU1ZqS

Why not to believe the tech bubble hype, with facts and numbers, by my partner @skupor -- http://t.co/Qp5Q7QfBza

And one more from me, on crucial interplay of invention and timing, & how the next big thing probably already exists--http://t.co/SvF3LwGnU8

On Entrepreneurial mindset

Part 5: The opportunity for leadership in journalism business--just happens to be same leadership opportunity as in all businesses!

1 Vision--If "difference between vision & hallucination is others can see vision", then critical to articulate bright future w/clarity.

2 Scrappiness--tough challenges call for resourcefulness, pragmatism, staying close to ground, in the details, all over opportunities.

3 Experimentation--May not have all the right answers up front, but running many experiments changes arguments to tests, data, correctness.

4 Adaptability--"Would you rather be right or successful?" top of mind at all times--the times change, we change--strong views weakly held.

5 Focus--As we gain clarity from experiments & adaptation, then we focus on small # of ultra-clear goals; all wood/arrows; all hands/deck.

6 Deferral of gratification--stomach (and resources!) to reject near-term rewards for enduring success; in journalism=refuse race to bottom.

7 Entrepreneurial mindset--both in new co & existing co--we own the company; we make the business; we control our future; it's on us.

On national news

Recap of journalism business tweetstorm to date: Part 1-My optimism about future of news; 2-How to make $ in news; 3-People doing it right.

Part 4: Things & ideas in journalism business, probably/arguably counterproductive to twin growth of quality journalism + quality business.

1 Bloated cost structure left over from monopoly/oligopoly days. Nobody promised shiny HQ tower, big expense accounts, lots of secretaries!

2 Unions & Pensions: Useful once, but now impose structural rigidity in rapidly changing environment. Everyone with equity = better model.

3 "Objectivity" as only model. Still relevant for some, but broad journalism opportunity includes many variations of subjectivity.

Pre-WWII, subjectivity was the dominant model--lots of points of view battling it out in marketplace of ideas; many approaches 2 same topic.

My take: "Objectivity" post-WWII was artifact of new monopoly/oligopoly structures; necessary to ward off antitrust; embraced by reporters.

But is only one way to tell stories & get at truth. Many stories don't have "two sides"; describing with point of view can even be better.

4 "Chinese wall" between content & business; no other non-monopoly industry lets product creators off the hook on how the business works.

There are intermediate points between "holier than holy" and "hopelessly corrupt" that don't equal warped coverage and do work as business.

Many businesses balance incentives & conflicts all day long; can still hold line on quality, make great products. Many ways to skin cat.

5 Spent 90% of effort on playing defense/protecting old, vs strong offense/making the future. In long run, bad result is inevitable.

Even newspapers that are now making it across digital chasm would be much better off today if had shifted resources/focus harder/sooner.

Best approach to strategy is think like 100% owner with long-term time horizon, and then work backward. Versus what we have now forward.

6 News industry with excessive # of competitors. 15 full-scale US national news orgs plus more from int'l too many; consolidation required.

NYT, WSJ, WP, LAT, CT, NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, NPR, Reuters, AP, CNN, Bloomberg, BBC, FT, Guardian, etc + all online co's too many general orgs.

On different look

My friend @rehundt saw Beatles live in Washington 50 years ago today--1st live concert after Ed Sullivan TV event. http://t.co/ApC7UQJ72t

These are original photos taken at the event by his friend/classmate Peter. http://t.co/sVZ2DU5YDs

The thing to remember is what absolute panic this caused in the minds of parents throughout US at the time. http://t.co/3ovXY2OPqC

WmFBuckley review at time: "Not merely awful...they are god awful...unbelievably horrible, appallingly unmusical..." http://t.co/L5jRPA35OX

Audience slightly different look & feel than contemporary young rock/pop/hip-hop concert... but having fun :-). http://t.co/AGD2XAUEYv

Idea 85

My partners @a16z and I are thrilled to welcome @BenedictEvans on his first day at the firm! We're delighted to be on the same team w/him.

Amazing: @BenedictEvans's grandfather was sci-fi author who predicted Internet in 1946 (!!!): http://t.co/rEaPEykEvD http://t.co/yCYzCXO0ad

On Books/Business amp

RT @cdixon: "A brainwallet refers to the concept of storing Bitcoins in one's own mind by memorization of a passphrase" https://t.co/7qOiOv…

RT @amazon: @bhorowitz The Hard Thing About Hard Things is in the top 100 in Books/Business & Investing on Amazon! http://t.co/jbBRJy3xH4

On competent technical coverage

Plus great to see @nytimes has evidently cracked code on print->digital after hard effort; http://t.co/Ftolr0aaaW http://t.co/m5Jew5P5UT

Finally, note not every experiment will work--maybe even some of these won't work. Not the point. Experiments needed for creation, success.

.@wirecutter (@blam)--A mini gadget news empire from various beach locales. A new style of tech journalism, side effect of great data.

.@TheAtlantic (@1bobcohn)--Taking a long-lived and respected brand and blowing it out worldwide. A daily presence now & growing audience.

.@VICE (@shanesmith30)--From online Do's and Don't's now to Vice media empire. Growth and presence via online stories & especially video.

.@WIRED (@sdadich)--Now more than half of revenue comes from digital, and growing. Blending print + digital; amazing breadth + depth.

.@sengineland (@dannysullivan)--All the search news, all the time. Leveraged into live events and consulting gigs. A new model for digital.

.@BuzzFeed (@peretti) -- Buzzfeed firehose created with listicles, now doing amazing in-depth long-form journalism. Growing like banshee.

.@politico (@harrispolitico)--Has taken over as the first thing DC reads every morning. Virtues of aggressive online focus demonstrated.

.@anandtech (@anandshimpi)--Monstrously competent technical coverage of computing industry; unprecedented depth + detail. Big influence.

.@verge (@joshuatopolsky)--Full coverage of tech industry news; daily must read. Crosses tech+consumer audiences. Expect 10x larger in 5yrs.

On every customer

For public co/modern era, everything connected: stock price, customer receptivity, morale & talent flows, press coverage, ecosystem trust.

As result:Public co tends to either positive feedback cycle where everything works well, or negative feedback cycle where everything is bad.

Therefore momentum -- in overall sense -- has become key: leads to either compounding goodness or compounding badness.

I think role of momentum & stock price as judge really intensified around 1996, due initially to widespread use of Yahoo Finance.

Before 1996/Yahoo Finance, even most sophisticated people had only vague, general awareness of most public companies & how they were doing.

After 1996/Yahoo Finance, every customer, employee, recruit, reporter, analyst, supplier, distributor checks co stock price daily = judging.